24 Palestinians, mostly women, children, killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza

Deir al-Balah: As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu travelled to the United States to speak with President Donald Trump over the war, local health officials said Sunday that Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip had killed at least 24 Palestinians, including more than a dozen women and children.

In an effort to force Hamas into accepting a fresh agreement for a truce and the release of the remaining detainees, Israel ended its ceasefire with Hamas last month and resumed its air and ground offensive, launching waves of attacks and seizing land.

It has also blocked the import of food, fuel and humanitarian aid for over a month to the coastal territory heavily reliant on outside assistance.

“Stocks are getting low and the situation is becoming desperate,” the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees said on social media.

The latest Israeli strikes overnight into Sunday hit a tent and a house in the southern city of Khan Younis, killing five men, five women and five children, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies.

A female journalist was among those killed. “My daughter is innocent. She had no involvement, she loved journalism and adored it,” said her mother, Amal Kaskeen.

The body of one child, a 1 1/2-year-old, took up just one end of an emergency stretcher.

“Trump wants to end the Gaza issue. He is in a hurry, and that is clear from this morning,” asserted Mohammad Abdel-Hadi, cousin of a woman killed.

Israeli shelling killed at least four people in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. And the bodies of five people, including a child and three women, arrived at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, according to an Associated Press journalist there.

Dozens of Palestinians took to the streets in Jabaliya for a new round of anti-war protests. Footage circulating on social media showed people marching and chanting against Hamas. Such protests, while rare, have occurred in recent weeks.

There is also anger inside Israel over the war's resumption and its effects on the remaining hostages in Gaza. Families of hostages along with some of those recently freed from Gaza and their supporters on Saturday urged Trump to help ensure the fighting ends, PTI reported.

Netanyahu on Monday will meet with Trump for the second time since Trump began his latest term in January. The prime minister said they would discuss the war and the new 17 per cent tariff imposed on Israel, part of a sweeping global decision by the new US administration.

“There is a very large queue of leaders who want to do this with respect to their economies. I think it reflects the special personal connection and the special connection between the United States and Israel, which is so vital at this time,” Netanyahu said while wrapping up a visit to Hungary.

The US, a mediator in ceasefire efforts along with Egypt and Qatar, expressed support for Israel's resumption of the war last month.

The toll of war

Hundreds of Palestinians since then have been killed, among them 15 medics whose bodies were recovered only a week later. Israel's military this weekend backtracked on its account of what happened in the incident, captured in part on video, that caused anger by Red Cross and Red Crescent and UN officials.

Israel's offensive has killed at least 50,695 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many were civilians or combatants but says more than half were women and children. It says another 115,338 people have been wounded. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.